IIT Delhi, Microsoft partner to host conference on assistive technology solutions

Microsoft India on Thursday said it has partnered IIT Delhi to host the second edition of Empower conference that brings together researchers, technologists and policy makers to discuss actionable steps in creating and making available assistive technologies. The event, to be held from October 14-17 at I-TEC, IIT Delhi-Sonipat will also see participation from disabled persons' organisations and non-governmental organisations.

"At Microsoft Research India, we have developed artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies that can be deployed in low-resource environments. These include embedded ML libraries which can enable the community of designers to leverage the power of AI and ML to enhance life of people with disabilities in India," Manohar Swaminathan, principal researcher at Microsoft Research (MSR) said. The conference will provide a fertile ground for innovation by connecting such tools with designers of assistive technologies in confluence with people with disabilities who need such solutions, he added.

"We believe that integration of differently-abled people should be an important goal for any society and for that providing them equal opportunities in mobility and education is critical," M Balakrishnan, founder of ASSISTECH and professor, CSE Department at IIT Delhi, said. Assistive technologies can help empower them to be a part of the societal progress, he added.

"Through this conference, we aim to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities and bring together all researchers, industries, users and user organizations involved in the creation, production and dissemination of assistive technology solutions," he said.

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